Merci de Alex OShea

As most riders in Saturday 22 June's graded scratch race out at old Federal Highway will know, I came down heavily after tangling wheels (all my own doing) just after the Lake George turn; my first ever crash in 20 years of cycle racing including over 13 years with the ACT Vets.

I would like to thank my C Grade competitors for stopping to attend to my welfare, help me to check my injuries, try to reduce, at my insistence - twice!, what i thought was a dislocated elbow, and especially to those who waited until our first-aider, Lee Hopson, arrived to get me warm and to keep up a banter of bad jokes to keep my mind off my arm pain till the ambulance arrived. Thanks also to Pat Rooke who pulled out of F Grade to provide support. This all worked just as it should - a credit to the Club's emergency procedures and rider courtesy.

The 'Ambos' made sure I had plenty of serious pain relief on board before the inevitable long Saturday afternoon wait in corridors of Canberra Hospital's ED. X-Rays confirmed a seriously busted up elbow which would have to be fixed with plates, screws, wires and other hardware sure to cause havoc at every airport security screening from now on. Despite dire predictions on a possible wait till Wednesday or Thursday to get this done, my number came up on Monday afternoon and I was home by Tuesday.

The unknown in all of this was that my wife and daughter were away in Beijing at the time and other available neighbours were away at the coast. Fortunately club mates Robert Langridge, Al Bontjer and Lee Hopson, the 'Curtin Men of Steel', were able to look after me, my dog, my bike and gear in a superb way. I was even able to arrange for Robert to stage a late night hospital break-out to get me home for some essential supplies and some decent food. Robert and Al continued to drop round each evening to make sure I was OK. They found me to be well fed, with enough good wine, excellent coffee and serious pain killers to make life almost bearable till my wife and daughter returned on Saturday - still completely oblivious to my condition. I am now lapping up their tender ministrations . . . and great food.

My goal will be to recover to the point where I can still go to the Pyrenees in September with the 10 other lucky Vets and ride some of those magnificent Cols and passes - or at least to be in the support car shouting encouragement to the others . . . or somewhere in between. Hopefully I will be able to turn a few pedal strokes before then in the hills around Canberra.

A big thank you to all those who helped, sent messages of support or even simply shouted words of encouragement out on the road - it’s a great club to belong to, especially when things are not going too well..

Alex OShea

Très Intéressant

"66 year old Eddy Merckx is arguably the greatest cyclist to ever live, a legend some would even say. These are just some of his achievements. In 1969 he became the only rider ever to sweep the overall mountain and points classification at the Tour de France, he twice won eight stages in a single tour, holds the record with 34 overall and for the most days in the yellow jersey. Merckx earned his nickname (The Cannibal) for the insatiable competitive drive that defined his unparalleled cycling career. He won an astounding 525 races over 13 seasons, claiming his first major victory at the 1966 Milan-San Remo classic, when he was 20, and logging his final big win at the same race in 1976. He also won 5 Tour de France titles, 5 Giro de Italia titles and five of cycling's monumental one day classics.”.

Contributed by Gordon Hollonds

Remarques importantes

Just a reminder that the usual $5 race fee did apply to last Saturday’s Race. In the past this particular event was free but given the new requirements for a qualified First Aider to be in attendance, the club has to pay for this event. If you didn’t get around to dropping your money in the box, could you please put your contribution in next week.

There have also been reports of some unpleasant individuals out on the Old Federal Highway between the Tulip Farm and Shingle Hill Way. Riders out that way are urged to exercise caution.

The ACT Legislative Assembly is calling for submissions about issues faced by vulnerable road users and potential improvements, due by 23 August 2013

The Tour de France is just around the corner, so time to start warning your workmates that you will be late in to work next month, setting up the recorder for SBS, and thinking about whether Cadel has it in him for a second time...

Please include in the deposit reference field your first initial, last name and what the deposit is for – e.g. “BWren TDF Tips”

5)Email me to at bh0229w@gmail.comconfirm that you have registered and made your payment.

Then you can go ahead and begin picking your cyclists. The rules are very simple, points are earned by predicting the winners foreach stage and you have until 5 minutes before the start of each stage to do so. For every stage you must choose 8 uniquecyclists from the picklists and predict which position they will finish in. Whether you pick based on your favorite riders, what country they are from, the numbers they wear, or your knowledge of the sport and the stages, everyone can have a go!

All money raised from entry in the competition will go to Hartley Lifecare as part of Team Hartley’s fundraising efforts for the 2013 Hartley Challenge.

RACING CETTE SEMAINE:

Saturday, 6th July – Lookout Hill Graded Scratch

Where: Lookout Hill.When:1:30pmSign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.Race Description:
Due to road works on Tidbinbilla Rd (including temporary traffic lights), the course for this weekend will be modified.
The turn-around point on Tidbinbilla Rd will be shortly after crossing the creek (approximately 2.3km past the Pt Hut road intersection). Including the Pt Hut leg, this will give a lap length of approximately 20kms.
Two laps will be ridden by A, B, C and D. After consultation on the day, the Pt Hut leg maybe omitted on one or both laps for E, F and G..Race Director: Chris ShortContact: Email Christopher.Short@globalccsinstitute.com Ph 0421 586 228

Help Needed on Sunday: Chris will require 4 marshals and some helpers at the finish line. Please contact him before the weekend if you can assist.

DIRECTEUR DE COURSE’S REPORT:

Dairy Rd – 29th June

A cool and cloudy day with just the occasional sprinkling of rain greeted an intrepid 36 riders at the Dairy Flat hot dog but at least it was not windy. There were a number of puddles on the track but it was not so wet that it was slippery.

A/B grades were the first to get away with 7 riders in B grade and only a tandem and one other rider representing A grade. The B grade riders suggested that A grade should start with them as there were only 2 A graders but the Director thought the better of it given one of the A grade contingent was a tandem and they were ‘A graders’ after all. B Grade rolled away and it wasn’t long before A grade was suggesting that B Grade had been given a generous head start. The soft hearted Director gave in and let A grade roll away after B grade had only ridden 450 m.

The B grade riders only got to contest one prime before A grade caught them on about the third lap and for the remainder of the race it was largely a contest between the 2 A grade contestants in the primes with B grade riders fighting it out for third place. By the end of the race Christophe Barberet had amassed a whopping 22 points with the tandem of Ashley Carruthers and Don Mankewich gathering 17 points to finish second. Third place went to John Thorn with 6 points just outscoring the other minor place getters Marc Vroomans and Brad Sellwood.

C/D grades with 11 riders contested the next race but this time C grade were given about an 800 metre handicap. This resulted in a much closer competition as it wasn’t until about half way through the race when the 4 C grade riders caught D grade that they were able to contest the primes. In the finish, Richard Gorrell from D grade won with 9 points, while C grader Claire Aubrey scored 7 points to finish second and Dale Kleeman from D grade finished third with 5 points. The two Taylors, Peter K. and Mark K. took out the minor places with 4 points each.

The combined E/F/G race with 14 riders was also closely contested. G grade had a start of over a kilometre and did all the scoring in the early primes with Trish Phillips doing most of the damage but club stalwart James Meredith also riding strongly. F grade caught the leading G grade riders around half way through the race and then they dominated the primes. Shortly afterwards E grade caught the leaders and started to score in the primes. At the end of the race there were 3 bikes and 4 riders all on 7 points. The E grade tandem of John Barlow and Cameron Ermert won on a count back having just won the final sprint from another E grader, Phil Anderson. Trish Phillips from G grade finished third after riding strongly throughout the race. Minor places went to James Meredith with 5 points and Angie Wren with 4 points. In all, 10 of the 14 riders managed to score some points during the race, even Terry Danaher who was and I think still is incredulous at the size of the handicap given to him in E grade.

Overall, a good afternoon of ‘different’ racing. Many thanks to Rosemary Robinson who had the unenviable job of recording the results and the regulars James Meredith and Graham Hendrie who assisted with both set up and judging. Thanks also to First Aid Officer Brad McDonald who attended his last Vet’s race as he is off to London to study. Thanks also to Claire Aubrey and Adrian Rollins who stayed after their race to assist with judging.